about the gym

I've mentioned before that Aaron and I aren't quite the athletic type. But, not counting sports though, we do enjoy athletic-ish things.

When we were dating, we would go to the gym together often because Aaron had one in his neighborhood.

After we got married, he moved, so no more gym.

And it was something we put off for two years.

But, last Monday, we finally joined a gym again!

There is a brand new Planet Fitness that opened up about seven minutes away from our house.

This is exciting for several reasons. Ready?

1. Healthy lifestyle. We all want to be healthier, right? Exercise is important to us, and we would both say it is one of our priorities. Also, I know it will help my back feel better in the long run.
2. Easier to be consistent. We had been exercising off and on for the past couple years because we weren't good with being consistent about walking/running outside. Now, since the gym is close, it costs money, and weather isn't a factor, we don't have an excuse to not go.
3. Cool equipment. They have like 50 treadmills, tons of other machines, weights, special workout routines, fun locker rooms...It's like a fancy gym land of magic.
4. Water massage. This might be our favorite part. To reward ourselves for working out, we sign up for the water massage beds at the end of our workout. Oh it's so wonderful.
5. People watching. We love to people watch. And let me just say there are some funny people at the gym. Free entertainment and/or motivation to be better at least.
6. Something fun to do together. Any excuse I can have to hang out with Aaron, I'll take it! We have had a lot of fun going to the gym together after not seeing each other all day. 

Anyway, I have loved the gym so far. I highly recommend joining a gym. The end.

an excuse

Sorry I've been MIA this past weekend here on the blog. My scheduled posts caught up to me at a time in the week where there just wasn't time!

We've been pretty busy these last couple weeks. Although, that seems to be the new normal for us. Our calendar is quickly booking up into the end of November already. I love our crazy, busy life together, but can I just say I'm ready for a vacation! Luckily, we have a break coming up at the beginning of November that include a couple days off work, an airplane ride, AND missing a Sunday (a rarity for us!). More on that later...

Anyway, I will be honest in that besides being busy last week, when we were at home, we were preoccupied with watching "Once Upon a Time." It's a show on ABC about fairytales...sounds right up our alley, right? And we have a bunch of friends that have told us all year that we would love it.

Since we don't watch TV much anyway, it took us awhile to even try it out. But it's on Netflix, so we started watching it.

And then we just couldn't stop.

It's one of those addicting shows that drags you in and before you know it, you've spent four hours watching it.

We finished the 22 episodes in the first season in like a week and half. And now we're all caught up with the second season that is currently airing.

Now that we aren't watching that every spare minute, we should be able to get back to normal around here...

about Frog's adventure

I came downstairs last night to this sight:

I guess Penny thought Frog wanted to look outside for awhile. 

a Penny post

You might remember how Penny has been going to school. Monday night she had her 5th class out of 6. She has learned SO much. And so have we!

Next week, she has her final test. She may not be very nervous about it, but we sure are.  I mean, I guess it's kind of a test for us too...to make sure we don't suck as teachers. But a lot of it depends on Penny, and hopefully she'll be in a good mood next Monday! 

If she does well, she'll have the option of going to the intermediate class. We aren't sure if we are going to take her or not yet.

She'll be tested on some of the skills she's worked on for the past 6 weeks:

1. Sit and greet a stranger (definitely need to work more on this...she gets too excited)
2. Here (she's great at this one)
3. Down (she's good)
4. Wait (she'll wait to eat a treat right next to her until we tell her she can)
5. Leave it (she's getting better at this one)
6. Stay (for at least 15 seconds in a sit position not breaking eye contact...yeah this is the hardest one)
7. Watch me (she does well)
8. Place (she is getting the idea)

So, I'll let you know next week if Penny passes her test and we'll be sure to get some pictures of her graduation!

about the NC State Fair

If you don't live in North Carolina, this may not seem like a big deal at all. But let me just tell you:  the NC State Fair is in town. 

You better believe it.

Now, I don't know if state fairs are popular in all states, but here in North Carolina, the fair is a big. deal.

Yes, I'm not sure exactly why. Is it the rides thrown together with rusty screws? Is it the greasy (but oh so tasty) food? The fact that you can get just about anything you ever wanted fried on a stick? The smells? The sounds?

I just know that for the 10 days the fair is in town, it is a hot topic of news and conversation, a cause for very long traffic jams, and you just better go if you don't want to be scoffed at.

So, go we did.

Friday night after I got home from work, we changed into proper fair attire. Well, not really...we just wore normal clothes. We hopped in the car with our pre-bought tickets (they're $3 cheaper you know?) and cash for parking and food. We slowly made our way there in the awful traffic. We found a parking lot, finally, for a $10 spot. We made it to the gate. We realized we had grabbed one ticket and one receipt from the glove compartment. We walked all the way back to the car. We made sure to have 2 tickets this time. We made it back to the gate. And in we went.

Oh, NC State Fair. How do you stay the same year after year and still attract us so?

We made our way through the crowds for a hand-dipped corn dog. Check.

We found our favorite place, The Tater Hut, for some fresh ribbon fries. Check.

We went to the NC Agriculture tent for our annual bottle of Cheerwine. They didn't have any this year. Fail.

We were momentarily saddened until Aaron spotted Cheerwine at a nearby pizza stand. Check.

I was determined to try the NC State Ice Cream that always has a freakishly long line. We got it. I didn't really see the big deal. Check.

We went to the Village of Yesteryear (my favorite) to see the crafty things and bought a couple of super cute stuffed animals for kids we don't yet have. Check.

For the first time ever, we walked through the gardens. That was fun. Check.

We went to the Exhibition Center to see the prize winning vegetables and pumpkins, and the adorable baby animals. Can I just have a baby cow for one day? We bought a $1 carton of milk from the NC State Dairy. Check.

Then we were about all faired-out for one night.

The NC Fair is pretty fun. If nothing else, the people watching is totally worth going!

We will actually be back again this coming Friday night with our crew from Journey18:25. So I better not eat too much else this week I guess!

Do you have a favorite food, ride, or attraction at the State Fair?

about Aaron's birthday party

My sweet husband turned 29 on Saturday! He thinks he's so old. I keep telling him it's all relative. To some he may indeed seem old, but to just as many more he seems so young. I guess in a couple weeks when I complain about turning 25 I can take my own advice.

So, on Saturday, I made him breakfast and took him shopping. He came away with quite a lot of birthday spoils! Mostly clothes. I refrained from looking too much for myself since it will be my turn to have a shopping day in a couple weeks.

On Sunday, we had a little birthday party of sorts. Aaron's favorite meal is his dad's lasagna. Dave made the lasagna on Saturday, then on Sunday morning, they brought it up to our oven so it would be ready after church. We had the whole family over:  my parents, his parents, his older brother and family, his younger brother, my brother and his girlfriend, and two dogs.

I made my first ever attempt at cupcakes as well. They turned out pretty well!

The party was Batman themed, obviously. (he may be 29 years of age, but he's more like 9 when it comes to some things...)

He got some gift cards, a stand for his MacBook, a Vinylmation, some Disney movies on Blu-Ray, and a funny plate from his mom. It says, "Honey, have you seen my..." and it has a picture of keys, wallet, and phone. It is Aaron all the way. He's always losing his stuff. Here's a picture of it...his eyes are closed though. Oops!

It was a lot of fun and so good to spend some time with our families. Happy Birthday, Aaron!